Read our Countryside Rangers' September adventures

Introducing Rangers Nick and Craig, our friends from the Herefordshire Countryside Rangers blog. They share what they’ve been up to this September from pulling weeds to planning for the following year – and not forgetting to find time for a cuppa and a slice of cake! Take it away, Craig!

While the fruit ripens in the orchard, I’ve been busy weeding and dead-heading in the garden along with my trusty volunteer Pippa. The veggie plots are slowly being turned over ready for the winter frosts and the whole area is gradually being transformed from a wild area to something much more manageable and a little easier on the eyes too.

Our wild flower meadow is currently covered in apples, but if you wander by you’ll find our native British tree plantation now with some very attractive signs to tell us which trees they are!

Now, over to Ranger Nick

Whilst Craig has been having fun I have been undertaking serious paper work in the office, not all the time mind you as that would drive a ranger around the bend!

We’ve been discussing a project on our neighbour's land – Bromyard Downs and Bringsty Common – where everyone’s working really hard to improve wildlife habitats at a landscape scale. Ranger Craig and I have skipped Christmas planning and started thinking about our events for 2015, so watch this space!

Doing my bit for grassland habitat, I recently rolled the bracken to reduce the amount of it covering the ground. The rolling action tricks the plant into thinking it can repair the damage. In doing so it doesn’t put enough energy into its roots for growing next year. In theory, over the years this makes the plant weaker and less able to compete with other plant species.